Ann Curry fills in as guest anchor of 'NBC Nightly News'

Thursday evening, viewers of "NBC Nightly News" got a familiar face they haven't seen much of in recent months. Ann Curry, the ousted former co-host of "Today," was the fill-in anchor for Brian Williams.

Curry has been largely absent from TV screens since she was fired from her "Today" gig last summer. Though she chose to remain employed by NBC News after the ouster, she's only reported on a handful of stories. Though she was a regular fill-in anchor on "Nightly News" during her time on "Today," Thursday was the first time she's been there since her tearful "Today" departure.

Curry gave a quick heads-up to her Twitter followers on Thursday, sending out a pic of herself on the set just before the broadcast began. On Friday, she followed it up with a thank-you to her fans. Curry will return to the anchor chair on Friday evening while Williams is out on vacation.

She wrote, "Thank you for all the lovely tweets about my anchoring @nbcnightlynews last night. Loveuback, Ann."

The last few months at NBC, including her final days at "Today," had been what Curry reportedly described as "professional torture." According to the book "Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV" by New York Times reporter Brian Stelter, "Today's" executive producer, Jim Bell, had been behind Curry's ouster, a plan he allegedly called "Operation Bambi."

Curry's lack of chemistry with co-host Matt Lauer contributed to her departure from the show, which many blamed on him, causing the once-popular Lauer's public image to take some damage. Since, she has appeared on "Today" with him just once, during the Olympics, where they shared a frosty exchange.